House of Sunny Builds on Instagram Momentum With Two London Stores

Inside the new House of Sunny store in East London Courtesy of House of Sunny

LONDON — East London label House of Sunny blew up last summer when Kendall Jenner wore its knitted Hockney dress, retail price 100 pounds, on Instagram.

Its psychedelic patterns, pastel hues and retro flair were quick to resonate with a young audience looking for optimistic designs that retained the comfort factor — and looked good in pictures, too.

More than a year later, the brand — which declined plenty of investment offers, according to designer Sunny Williams, and is staying independent — is still going strong and looking to further establish its business beyond the digital realm and its 627,000 Instagram community.

Williams is starting with two new physical retail locations in London, opening this week and aiming to highlight the craft behind House of Sunny products, its contemporary design vision and sustainable credentials. His ultimate intention? To prove that beyond the Instagram hype, this is a brand that’s here to stay.

“We know there’s lots of purpose behind the hype and that’s part of the reason why our product can have longevity. The business is now doubling year-on-year, but we started from very humble beginnings, focusing our values first. That took years, so now it’s not as shocking to see those sell-throughs,” said Williams, who looks to community-driven brands like Stussy and Nike and aims to develop House of Sunny into a lifestyle customers want to fully embrace.

“When customers discover that it’s not just the dress Kendall was wearing, there’s a story behind the brand, they want to be a bigger part of it,” the designer added.

Translating the world of the brand into the physical realm is a big part of the storytelling process. That’s why the indie label is simultaneously opening the doors to a permanent flagship space in its East London neighborhood, as well as a temporary space in Mayfair’s South Molton Street, just a stone’s throw away from Browns and the mega brands on Bond Street.

“There’s a massive difference between the East and Central London customers, so we wanted to tick both boxes and give customers options depending on their location. I didn’t want to put all my energy in a store just in East London and not get the right footfall,” added Williams, who has been spending much of his time sourcing midcentury modern furniture, including Mario Bellini sofas and rosewood antique pieces to design the two stores’ interiors. “It’s going to feel less like a shop and more like a home with lots of inspiration from the ’50s and ’60s.”

The stores will stock a mix of pieces from the current fall season, as well as spring 2022, some being available to buy directly and others to preorder — a key part in the House of Sunny business model.

“We’ve focused on preorders a lot in the past four seasons and used it to forecast our [production] numbers. It’s hard to calculate exactly, but we’ve been doing it for such a long time and one of my proudest achievements is getting to the end of the season and seeing that there’s no product left or going to waste,” said Williams, who is adamant about sticking to this direct-to-consumer model. “I’ve watched way too many documentaries that scared me and seen too many brands grow too quickly and lose their direction [to do otherwise].”

As the physical stores open, Williams added that he will be working toward streamlining operations, eliminating wasteful packaging and ensuring that the company doesn’t “pick up any of the bad habits of retail.”

“We’re going into it with an open mind and there’s a big opportunity to change the cycle of things and offer an experience and product that’s going to be enjoyed differently.”